Prominent Illawarra restaurateur Daniel Dafkovski has been sentenced to jail time for trying to strangle his estranged wife but will walk free from custody on Thursday having already served his sentence in full.
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Dafkovski was handed a 13-month sentence in Wollongong Local Court on Tuesday, with a non-parole period of 6 months after admitting he choked her during an argument at their Coniston home in December last year.
Magistrate Mark Douglass rejected calls by Dafkovski's lawyer for an intensive corrections order in lieu of a jail sentence, noting the prevalence of domestic violence in the community and the serious nature of Dafkovski's actions on this night.
"Strangulation is potentially a fatal act which causes significant physical and psychological trauma to victims," he said.
"It's prevalent in domestic violence incidents. The use of strangulation in these incidents is recognised as indicative of a risk of further harm in relationships, including serious acts of violence and even homicide.
"An intensive corrections order is bot appropriate. There must be a sentence that deters not only this offender, but others given the prevalence of domestic violence and this sort of offending."
As part of his sentence, Dafkovski will be required to undergo anger management and domestic violence courses on parole.
Documents tendered to the court reveal Dafkovski and his estranged wife were at their home on the evening of December 5 last year when they got into a heated conversation and Dafkovski began calling the woman derogatory names.
The woman tried to send a text message to Dafkovski's mother about the argument but instead sent it to her husband accidentally, prompting the 30-year-old father of two to fly into a rage.
He jumped onto the bed, straddled his wife, who was laying down, wrapped his hands around her throat and started trying to strangle her.
The woman later told police she couldn't breath for about 30 seconds, however was able to scream for help when Dafkovski moved his hands to change his grip.
A neighbour heard the commotion and banged on the bedroom wall, prompting Dafkovski to let go of his wife's neck. He then dragged her onto the landing and pushed her down a set of stairs inside the home.
The woman was taken in by the neighbour until her family came to collect her.
She reported the incident to police on January 6 and Dafkovski was arrested and charged.
He was released on conditional bail, however Dafkovski subsequently posted an image of the victim in her underwear on his Facebook profile, leading to his re-arrest later that month.
In court on Tuesday, defence barrister Rob Steward confirmed Dafkovski and his wife were now separated.
He said Dafkovski had a "troubling" history regarding his mental health and had recently been diagnosed with obsessive paranoid personality disorder.
However, he noted the 30-year-old had strong family support and good prospects of rehabilitation.
Magistrate Douglass also made a two-year domestic violence order prohibiting Dafkovski from contacting his ex-wife unless for court-approved mediation or counselling.
